Joffrey Ballet anchors 2011-2012 NOBA season

The New Orleans Ballet Association (NOBA) launches its 2011-2012 season
of dance with six exhilarating companies featuring some of the most
significant and distinctive choreography today, including three New
Orleans debuts and a world premiere.

NOBA returns to the Mahalia Jackson Theater of Performing Arts to
present the incomparable Mark Morris Dance Group; the "startlingly
imaginative" (The New York Times) Shen Wei Dance Arts; Complexions
Contemporary Ballet in a NOBA-commissioned world premiere set to New
Orleans jazz and honoring the careers of two of dance's most illustrious
superstars, Desmond Richardson and Wendy Whelan; and the classic
American ballet company, Joffrey Ballet, with a trio of works by stellar
choreographers. In a continued partnership with The NOCCA Institute,
NOBA presents the electrifying Jacoby & Pronk Dance Artists and the
inventive Stephen Petronio Company in the intimate, beautiful Freda
Lupin Memorial Hall.

The season kicks off on October 22 at the Mahalia Jackson Theater
when the spellbinding dancers of the Mark Morris Dance Group return to
New Orleans for the first time since 2002. The phenomenally gifted
American dance icon Mark Morris celebrates 30 years of creating
intensely musical, endlessly inventive and joyously exuberant dances.
Hailed as the "Mozart of modern dance" (Washington Post), Morris
spotlights his musical devotion by always touring with his own group of
classical musicians. His long-awaited New Orleans return is no
different, and his superb company brings a lush program of brand new
dances and classic works set to live music.

On November 11 and 12, NOBA is honored to join The NOCCA Institute in
presenting the New Orleans premiere of Jacoby & Pronk Contemporary
Dance Artists at NOCCA's Freda Lupin Memorial Hall. Two of today's most
extraordinary dancers, Drew Jacoby and Rubinald Pronk are
internationally renowned for performing with such companies as the Dutch
National Ballet, Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, and Alonzo King Lines
Ballet. In 2008, this elite duo, known for razor-sharp technique,
sensual chemistry and physical beauty, launched an exciting new dance
project, hand-picking international ballet stars and choreographers to
join them in producing tailor-made evenings of contemporary ballet.
Creating a sensation wherever they perform, Jacoby & Pronk are
"breaking the ballet mold and giving it a whole new image," raves Dance
Magazine.

NOBA returns to the Mahalia Jackson Theater on January 21 with the
bold, sensational work of Shen Wei Dance Arts, a cross-cultural company
hailed by the New York Times as "startlingly imaginative." Shen Wei
Dance Arts brings a fantastical world that vividly fuses East and West
by incorporating Chinese opera, Eastern philosophy, traditional and
contemporary art, and dance. Led by visionary choreographer, designer,
and artist Shen Wei, who created part of the Opening Ceremonies of the
2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the company is known for "gorgeous visual
imagery" (London Times). The breathtaking and poetic program includes
the haunting and otherworldly masterpiece Folding, along with his newest
creation.

On March 2 & 3, NOBA once again partners with The NOCCA Institute
to present the Stephen Petronio Company at Lupin Hall. Acclaimed by
audiences and critics alike, Stephen Petronio is widely regarded as one
of the leading dance-makers of his generation with an instantly
recognizable style that combines fiercely kinetic movement with the most
innovative collaborators from music, visual art, and fashion. His
intrepid dancers move with whiplash speed and crystalline beauty. The
program features Underland, a provocative work originally created for
the Sydney Dance Company set to the dark, bitter-sweet songs of
Australian rocker Nick Cave and City of Twist, an homage to New York
City with an enigmatic commissioned score by performance art legend
Laurie Anderson.

Then on April 21, Complexions Contemporary Ballet's incomparable
co-founders, choreographer Dwight Rhoden and superhuman dancer Desmond
Richardson, bring their sleek, daredevil company back to New Orleans
with a high-voltage program at the Mahalia Jackson Theater. Richardson,
hailed by The New York Times as "one of the great modern dancers of his
time," will be retiring from the company as a dancer this season. As a
special tribute, NOBA has commissioned Rhoden to create a new duet to
live New Orleans jazz for Richardson and New York City Ballet Principal
dancer Wendy Whelan. This world premiere event will mark the first time
these beloved American superstars have danced together in their
illustrious careers.

The season closes at the Mahalia Jackson Theater on May 12 with the
return of Joffrey Ballet, which donated their services in 2006 so NOBA
could bring dance back to New Orleans. For more than a half-century, The
Joffrey Ballet has been an American ballet treasure. Last seen in New
Orleans at Dixon Hall, this sensational company returns to close the
main stage season in grand style. The elegant program highlights the
bold and refreshing talents of rising choreographic star Edwaard Liang
with Age of Innocence, an emotionally-charged new work inspired by the
social complexities of life in the era of Jane Austen. Also on the
program is Jerome Robbin's enchanting romantic masterwork In the Night, a
passionate ballet featuring a series of three pas de deux set to the
live accompaniment of Chopin Nocturnes.

NOBA season ticket buyers save up to 20 percent off the single ticket
price by purchasing a season ticket package. The Grand Plus Series
package of all six events ranges from $154 to $490, while the Grand
Series package, which includes all four performances at the Mahalia
Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts, ranges from $68 to $424. The
flexible Build-a-Series package allows season ticket holders to design
their own season package and starts at $51. Discounts are also available
for students with a valid ID. Single ticket prices for Mark Morris
Dance Group, Shen Wei, Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Joffrey
Ballet are $20-$125. The single ticket price for Jacoby & Pronk
Dance Artists is $65, and the single ticket price for the Stephen
Petronio Company is $40.

Season tickets are currently on sale, and single tickets for NOBA
events go on sale September 6. For more information on the upcoming
season or to purchase season tickets, call NOBA at 504-522-0996, Ext.
201 or visit www.nobadance.com. Single tickets may be purchased by
calling NOBA at 504-522-0996 or Ticketmaster at 504-522-5555; individual
ticket sales are also available online at www.nobadance.com or
www.ticketmaster.com.

NOBA is the Central Gulf region's premiere presenting and service
organization dedicated solely to the art of dance. NOBA's dynamic Main
Stage season annually features a diverse array of world-class companies
and artists. Each year NOBA provides concerts, classes, workshops and
lectures to more than 25,000 area dance enthusiasts of all ages. In
addition, NOBA's nationally recognized award-winning education programs
provide the youth of our community access to quality arts programs with
over 3,000 free dance classes and workshops annually at ten sites
throughout the Greater New Orleans area.